Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-03-03

miners, does not contain ii clause here that will
sto? every small miner above that dam l
| wish that this bill could be heraldcd over the
| mountains, among the miners. in order that
they might see what the large corporations that
| desire to form under this act and build dams in
the mountains intend to do with them
| such meu rs l. J.. Robinson and the
| owners of large Corporations, most of them
| foreign corporations viii. in short. time, own
ana control the entire mining industry on the
| streams above these dams. for it would be i'm
| possible for the small miners to come in and
| lake stock. And if they could ! ask il we can
| provide in bill 10 force the 81 all miners or
! force the large miners, or force any man into Il
| corporation?
l do not understand that am obliged to take
stock in any corporation unless see tit TO do So
| do not understand that they can compel me |
to build dams in the mountains if it is contrary
| to my wishes but it Is clear in this proposition
that that is tie intention. desire to say right
| here that Senator Patterson and Senator Cami |
ETH. while in the committee room when this bill |
! was referred 20 us agreed with my side that |
| this ought not to be. and Senator Nulrath him |
| self submitted, and they agreed 10 amend this |
section so us 10 provide that every ban, or Ger
| tain number of men above. should build dau-s |
to restrain their debris, and that it should not |
| be compulsory upon these men To come in |
and take St ok in their corporation |
| and become part owners in this dam. That |
was the agreement. None Of the gentlemen Will !
deny that. Senator Patterson saw the justice 0it i
| lie perceived that 1t would work an injury 70 |
| his mining people and u the small miueiS and /
trat they would object TO it. Senator Caminelu |
stated positi yely that he would not vote for the !
bill il that were in it, and call on him to-day |
to adhere to his word. He told there that he |
! objected to that clause and that he would rot |
vote for it, that he would not compel his people |
| to Oiu a corporation. He was one man to say |
| 'IOu can't compel to come into n lTpOra- |
| tion unless desire To do So Any fairminded !
! man. looking at that section, Will say that that |
! is a bad provision in this bill that il shows con-
clusively that these large hydraulic mining cor
pOraiunS desire 10 do by these people far worse
| than the farmers have done unto them. or have !
| ever attempted to do with them.
call Your attention also to the fact that when |
| that bill, or as | stated the other day bill |
almost identical in its character providing for |
| the same measures, was intro ;uced two days !
! ago. it actually contain ed clause making il a |
misdemeauOr To run mat cr into the streams |
above these dams. Now. sir, do yOu remember |
! that when in this Legislature il the mis- |
! fortune perhaps Of some of the Legislators 10 |
! introduce bill providing r,at people running |
matter int the streams should be deemed |
| guilty OF 81 felony. that the Legislature rose |
| en- masSe against Such IA proposition. and even |
| voted down the proposal 10 1nakct 1t Il mlSf e.
mcanOr to deS roy these naVigablc streams |
| And vet actually i'll that bin they make il a mis-
| dcmeauor. If these Souicss corporations are
! any more tender OF the small miners than we
| have been. | would like to see them
| introduce some other hill than that pro-
yding that they sha'i not do this sort Of thing
| Mr President we desired to amend this bill. |
! We desired to amend that section. We claim, |
! that that not right, and we offered To amend
| il in a way that we lhOught was iair They said
! they would amend il. after The talk that ] |
have d, scribed. but the amendment tFat was
| prepared. submitted and agreed to, was brought
| into he Senate by Mr. CGminetti. and, for some
reason or other, 1t was not introduced and
added 20 this bill do not know why. Has it
been tair dealing? IT was agreed in the COM
lnittee that this clause, which was stricken out
hy the Senate (refering 70 matter i'll sUspcnsiOn).
snould be inserted also: but il did not 90 in. /
do not say believe any one is guilty of any un-
fairness but there was some IeaSon why that
amendment did not pass into the bll. We de
sired to add other amendments to provide us
with some safeguards against these dams. We
do not believe that we have security in any
manner OF way commensurate with the danger
of living under these dams.
We do not believe that there viii be an
amount put into the treasury, in the hands of
the Governor, that Will be III all adequate to the
amount demanded that Will be necessary for
maintaining and improving these dams. They
can ask the state Eugineer-Or some other
engineer. as provided in the bill-to make Speci-
icationS for a dam 10 feet in hight, which viii |
cost perhaps Sl00GGD. They do not say that
they want 10 build such dam any higher. Ten
thousand dollars or 10 per cent. of the amount,
goes into the treasury. Now, suppose they fill |
up that dam and the debris is running over its
top: the owners have ascertaincd that their |
mine is Il failure and does not pay. Under this |
bill they can abandon that dam for some one
else to take care Of and while It IS threatening
to break we must go about TO get tn money out
of the hands of the Governor 10 repair the dam
as best may. But after that, ask. who Will |
repair the structure When they have built |
This dam OF several of them, 10 feet high, they
gan 90 On riiSinN them 10 feet highnr aud ~ |
about dams co and 100 feet high. lfteey begin |
to buii ans 10 feet the engineers necessarily |
must make specifications for Il dam 10 feet high;
but when the time comes 10 raise it higher, we
will be in continual danger from structure
that is by reason of its physical character, dan
.crous to live und r.
As stated the other day these rivers are al
ready charged with debris from twenty 10 one
hum red and fifty feet deep; these very rivers
where they propose TO put up these dams. That
materi i consists OF 3ubhle ones. and the mass
i. continually di>ntegrating and going down
the valley. Now they propose 10 build them ON
top of these ores that have come down from
the mountains. where they had laid for ages,
but when they come into contact with air and
water the become Stacked, and the outside is
continually Crumbl ng of, 50 that you can KICK
them TO pieces. In their new form they come
down in susI ension into our valleys.
30 not believe, nor do believe that ihey
believe these dams can be built with Ucrma-
nency in view. But they declare their desire
bv the passage of this bill to secure some rccOg-
nitiou bv the state of "a business that the
highest Courts in the land have declared
10 re wrong and to be nuisance which ought
TO stop. We do not bel eve, and it is a lsct
that every man knows, that they cannot hold
this mat or that comes doWnuoW, IN suspension,
Notwithstanding that they agree to do SO, and
yesterday struck ont the wo ds " carried in sltS
Depsiou sir if there is any man here who |
has ever seen the Sacram nt) river, or any other
liver where this debris has cClne down, he VIII |
recognize The truth of the expression used by
one of the attorneys in these eases, " that 1t
care down III iiQu waves OF mud NhN,
sir the water is absolutely destroyed for all use
i'm The Bear and lnba rivers. It is SO muddy Mt
times in the river rs TO be unit t'r watering
stock You could not use il for irrigation, il is
absolutely worthless to the people below, and
whenever it rises high cnouzh 10 break ouT
levecs there is spewcd ont au immense quantity
of sand and s.ickens oyer our liant, thus cover
lug it continually. II has covered lands - Il
depth varying from one to thirty feet.
landed, 81, on the Bear river in 1872, and
the first work ever did in California WAS on
the noted ranch concerning which the suit of
Keyes The Little YORK Company WAS brought
That was in May, 1882, and on the broad meadow
lands of the Bear tVeI that J labofed. At tHat
time the stream was running clear and unpOi-
luted and with Weil-detined channel from
twelve to fifteen teet deep. have fordeil all
these streams in the early days the American,
the Bear the Nubd and the Feather rivers IN
the summer season, on sravcIy bottom, Wltl
clear water flowing down over the peobieS
have lived, Mr.. President to see those rivers so
filled Up that in mHJy places the beds of the
streams are high as the banks, or the plane
of the around on either side. They have been
leveed up: the banks of Bear river are to-tlsy 50
evecd up that the water IS absolutely SIX or
eight I, ct higher than the surrounding county
hen You go up onto those leIees ana dfiNe
along their tops yOu have to ascend sharp IN
cline and vet the bed of the stream is up almost
to the plane of lhe top Of the levees.
Thcse cmb1ukments are broken by nearly
are destroyed. That has been the case IN the
pus but. sir, it C .nnot be much longer, ior
there is very little Of the bottom land OF Bear
river left. There are few mcn-and saw one
i'll this senate yesterday-who II they could |
SPEAK upon this ioor could tell yOn how they
have expended thousands upon thousands of
dollars to protect their lands that they have
been leveeinS for years and eNhausting their
means in levees, which every and then
have been breaking and destroying their crops,
washing away their fences and destroying their
stock. one Of these men, sir, Is the Hon. G. l.. |
Berry Of suffer county, well known Ia every
uatt Of this state. j know his ranch II is only
Six miles distant from my home, aud While
ana 'or unnte enough to be on the other side OF
n ri ;ge ! sec tn Shiny monster steadily creep
ing toward. my own home twill be bat few
years ir before | am driven out. rs have seen
hundreds driven from their homes taking their
al pei haIs in u little two horse wagon going
uf to Washington Territory or other places and
leaving as fine farms ever man owned in the
State
The finest land ever saw was originally on
the Bear riyer bottom, and the Guba river bot
tom. Why. sir. have seen these ihings, hav-
ing lived there for - years. have labOred 10
7. ar my children and build me a hOIns there.
Do you wonder that | feel deeply, intensely
upon this question: Do you think that want
tho.e dams put into those rivers, that an 10
live under their menace2 We do not believe |
that it can be done. Mr.. President would
rather cut off my right hand than to vote for
that bill and go back TO my oOn.t tuents
know sir that there is not man in this valley,
that there is not man in my county. III the
valley portion OF either Of the counties, and one
Of which | represent sir is partly a mining
countv-I know that there is not man there, |
saw who Is in favor of this proposition of put |
ting dams into the river. There may be iew |